The article discusses the patterns of everyday life of the Old Believerswanderers in the territory of Kargopol district of the Olonets province. It draws upon new archival materials of church and secular origin, as well as a number of significant works by the missionaries. The study explores peculiarities of the wanderers’ worldview, the forms and methods of their preaching activity, and the structure of their communities. The wonderers’ teaching was deeply eschatological, which led to a complete break with “the world of Antichrist”.

This article is devoted to an analysis of scholarly literature dealing with church buildings in contemporary urban space, both outside and inside Russia. Five analytical approaches were defined: historical, sociological, spatial, theological, and economic. In the historical approach, a church building is taken by itself, with no active relation to the social environment. In the sociological approach, the social processes around the church become central. The theological approach is similar, but here the focus is on the spiritual dimension of church activities.

In this essay the author develops the theme of councils as living ecclesiology, as a manifestation of the reality of the Church. The meaning of councils is not limited to their agenda. The primary source of their charisma is the fact of assembly as such. The conciliar assembly manifests the essential relationships on which the Church is founded. One of the author’s chief concerns is to describe how councils help to shape the dynamics of leadership in the Christian Church. The orientation of conciliar leadership is horizontal and inclusive, not vertical and elitist.